A weekly Twitter chat for motion designers

This week on #mochat we discussed the fragile topic of money—billing & rates. It worked out well with no one feeling pressured to reveal specific numbers.

For most people, learning what to charge is an ongoing process, with few figuring it out right away. What helped people was talking to others in their area to get a sense of what their rates are. Experience, type of work, and location are all factors. Fortunately, an anonymous (and interactive) survey from Coroflot can point you in the right direction, too. One of the big points to consider is that by freelancing, you need to not only cover your own salary, but also expenses like equipment, software, and taxes.

On billing, people vary between charging per hour or day and a flat rate. It seemed to depend on the client and personal preference. Whether or not to charge for rendering also came up.